The Rebellions of Upper and Lower Canada

Upper and Lower Canada both had problems with their governments, and the people of both parts felt neglected by their leaders, but for different reasons. In Upper Canada, the settlers weren't satisfied with how the land was being divided up; the crown and clergy both owned reserves surrounded by walls which blocked many routes, and prevented road construction. The Family Compact was also buying up all of the good land, then selling it for a profit, so not only could the settlers not obtain their own land, but they also couldn't afford to buy at the speculators' high prices. In Lower Canada there weren't really problems with land so much as with assimilation. Lower Canada's population was made up mostly of French settlers, but was ruled by a lot of English nobility. The French became very concerned that the English were trying to wipe out their culture because the oligarchy, the Chateau Clique, was made up of English-speaking men. These men were slowly changing the way of life for the French. They changed their seigneurial system to a more free land-owning system, and in 1847 the French became convinced that the English were trying to kill them, because that was when the Irish, many of whom were sick with cholera, arrived in Quebec.
So although the two separate parts of Canada were unsatisfied for different reasons, they both took action the same way, because they thought the English wouldn't have the forces to defeat both sides. In Upper Canada, Willilam Lyon Mackenzie bought a newspaper called The Colonial Advocate, in which he wrote and published articles criticizing everything about the Family Compact and government of Upper Canada. The people chose Mackenzie to lead them in the rebellion, and in 1828 he was elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly. The people in Lower Canada had a leader, too. His name was Louis-Joseph Papineau, and he was a very talented public speaker. He wrote up a paper called, "The Ninety-Two Resolutions,"and submitted it to the governor, but they refused everything he asked.
Eventually the rebels of Upper Canada and the rebels of Lower Canada began to contact each other, and they planned an attack. Unfortunately, it was very poorly planned, and both sides were easily defeated. The leaders of both, Mackenzie and Papineau, escaped to the United-States, Papineau dressed as a woman. Although both sides ended up losing, the rebellions they left lasting effects on Canada, and will always be remembered.

Vocabulary Words

1. Representative government – A representative government is one in which representatives are elected by people to make laws on their behalf.
2. responsible government – responsible government can be voted out if elected representative fail to please a majority of the people who elected them.
3. oligarchy – power is placed in the hands of a small group of rich and influential men
4. democracy – these governments are representative and responsible
5. Constitutional Act – A law that separated Upper Canada from Lower Canada and established an elected law-making assembly, a governor and two appointed councils  (1791)
6. veto – To stop something with authority i.e. to veto a law is to cancel the law without having to confer with anyone
7. Family Compact – Small group of rich business people in Upper Canada – the Council was made up of members of the Family Compact.
8. Chateau Clique – Same as the Family Compact but in Lower Canada.
9. Legislative Assembly – An elected law-making body of men
10. governor – The head of the government in the Canadian colonies appointed by the British Crown.
11. appointed – Selected by a higher authority.
12. elected – Voted in by the majority of the voting public.